4 Insurance-Policy Add-ons Worth the Money

A few inexpensive add-ons can add valuable coverage to your auto and homeowners insurance.

1. For your auto insurance, consider roadside assistance. For $3 to $12 every six months (versus $52 per year for AAA), you can get lockout service, towing, jump starts, and flat-tire fixes, says Cadie Patrizz, an independent insurance agent in Tarzana, California.

2. Rental reimbursement can be worthwhile if you need a car while yours is being repaired (repairs must be due to a covered loss).

Mercury Insurance, for example, charges $20 every six months to provide up to $40 per day for a rental car while yours is being repaired, for a maximum of 30 days, says Patrizz. (Specifics vary by location.)

3. Medical payments coverage takes care of medical and ambulance bills for you and your passengers. It may duplicate health insurance, but it can fill in some gaps if you have a high-deductible policy.

You’ll pay about $19 every six months for $5,000 in coverage, says Patrizz.

4. For homeowners, coverage for sewage backup is a big gap in most policies — leaving you to pay thousands of dollars to clean up nasty damage caused by water and sewage that backs up into your house. But you can often pay about $50 per year to get $10,000 to $25,000 in coverage.